


Thin Lines

by My_Dear_Watson



Category: The Mummy Series
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-10
Updated: 2014-09-12
Packaged: 2018-02-16 19:56:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2282601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Dear_Watson/pseuds/My_Dear_Watson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tess Carnahan accompanies her siblings on their trip to Egypt, determined to keep them out of trouble. She knows she's in for it when the trip reunites her with old friends. She doesn't at all expect that there's more to her sister's connection to the place, let alone she has one too. She just wishes hers was as straightforward as Evy's Ardeth/OC, Memnon/OC later on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Here we are, one of those dreaded renditions. Anyway, I'm always editing this fic and I figure this run through would be the last, so why not add it here on AO3. Enjoy.

**Prologue**

"Hey Kat, I think I found somethin'!" Brian McCallum called for his twin sister after he dug a leather book out of the wooden chest in front of him. The teenage twins had been in the basement of their grandfather's house after having to move the man out, and they had been put in charge of sorting through the old things they found there.

His sister Katherine walked up behind him and bent down. "What?"

Brian shrugged, then held up the book before he motioned at the rest of the contents. "Found this. It's probably great granddad's journal, but it looks like the rest of it is pretty relevant, too."

There were various letters, books, photos and other odds and ends that lined the sides, and filled a good portion of the chest.

Brian handed the journal over, then turned around. "Hey, Dad!" He turned his attention back to the chest and pulled out two of the pictures. "Hey, that guy looks like Dad… and… I have no idea who those two might be…" He passed over the photo to Kat, who shrugged.

The pair of them turned to Mark when he came into the attic. "Hey, we came across this. This might be that journal. Any idea who these people are, too? Might be somethin' else to show them."

Mark looked at the photos, then laughed. "Yes, of course I do." He laughed. "They're your family- that's your great grandmother Tess, greatgrandfathers Ardeth and Marcus- bit of a long story there, apparently- then there's great uncle Rick, and great aunt Evelyn, with your Grandma Alia and your granduncles Les and Ian." Mark replied. "This is… when was this taken? I've never seen them all together…"

His children arched an eyebrow at him.

Mark shrugged. "They were… quite the family of adventures, really. That's where we all get it from. Where did you find this?" He squeezed in between them and rifled through the books. He found one, opened

to the first page, and grinned. "Here we are. Marcus' journal…" He put it down, then picked up a notebook and frowned at it, more so when a couple of letters fell out from between the next two pages. "What's this…?" He put one back, then opened the other one carefully. He scooted over so both of his children could get closer, and all three began to read the letter silently.

_To Whom It May Concern-  
Let me start off this little journey in time in a box by saying it was all my husband and Marcus' fault. They wanted to do this. I was never one for quaint things. However, like my brother-in-law Rick said, knowing all three of our families, it may be wise, putting all of these things together about our adventures in case one of our descendants screw up. Let me just say to start off with, if the person reading this is considering going on a treasure hunt of any kind, JUST DON'T DO IT. Those ghost and mummy stories- surprise, they're real. The proof is all here, along with a few things, just for the family in general._

_You might have heard my sister's account of our adventures. If you haven't, they're in here, too. I figured it's only fair to give you my side of the story as well. Enjoy._

_Tess Henderson, 1953._

_P.S: I wasn't kidding about that treasure hunting. Stop. Now. Look through all of this and learn from our mistakes. If we have anything locked up anywhere and you know of it- don't mess with it either._

 

The father and children looked at each other, shrugged, and glanced back at the notebook. They opened to the first page, their curiosity getting the better of them.

* * *

**_North Carolina, 1905:_ **

_"But Dad! I don't wanna go!" Ten-year-old Tess Carnahan yelled at her father, who was leading her to the entrance of the grounds to the school he had recently enrolled her in._

_Her father, Richard, laughed. "I know, darling, but be lucky you're going anyway. This is a privilege compared to some of the things that kids your age are doing. Besides, you'll meet friends here!"_

_"How is it going to last, dad? You're only here for business!" Tess whined._

_"Be hopeful, kid. I'll see you later." with that, her father walked away._

_Tess sighed and went into the school. She knew it was a losing battle- the paperwork and assigned class had already been taken care of. She was headed into Mrs. Wilson's classroom. Handling being the new kid in school was nothing new to her. It had happened far too many times for her liking. She was okay with most of the things attached to it- just not the awkward, 'who are you?' stares she always received. She crossed to one of the empty seats in the back of the room and stared down at the surface of the desk. If she didn't look around, she could avoid them._

_"Ah, new kid, huh? Tough break."_

_Tess frowned and turned, seeing a blonde boy her age. He was looking at her, offering a crooked smile. He had his feet up on his desk, and had an almost-completely eaten apple in his hand closest to the window._

_"Who are you?" Tess asked, not knowing why she struck up a conversation with someone she didn't even want to know. He came across as arrogant right off the bat. She hated arrogant people._

_"Chase Henderson," he tossed the apple core aside into the trash and offered his hand. "Future cowboy. You?"_

_Tess smiled at the way he presented himself with 'future cowboy'. "Tess Carnhan. Future I-Have-No clue" she shook his hand._

_Chase smiled again. "So, this really is your first day, huh?"_

_"Yeah," Tess nodded._

_"I remember my first day here. I hated it," the blonde's southern accent came through in the statement. "I might as well try to make yours halfway decent."_

_Tess smiled softly. Maybe he wasn't so bad, after all. This was a first- making a friend on the first day. She liked the idea of that._

* * *

**_French Foreign Legion Camp, 1919:_ **

_Tess flinched, watching another injured soldier get dragged into the tent. She was tending to a young man who had a bullet graze his shoulder the previous day. She silently muttered to herself, wondering why she had followed her father, once again, and taken the nursing job a family friend had offered. She was never a fan of the sight of blood, but at the same time, she felt like she had a sense of duty to the soldiers. That was one of the many things she had inherited from her father, who had taken to being one of the general's assistants. She muttered 'why did I even come here?' one last time and turned to leave for another tent when two men dragging a groaning third man behind them, came bursting through the tent entrance._

_"Nurse Carnahan, help this man! He's been shot. We got the bullet out, but he needs to be patched up." One of the soldiers ordered, all but shoving the man into her arms._

_She groaned and pulled the man over to one of the empty beds and maneuvered him onto it. She left to get bandages, and came back. She finally got a good look at him. She'd admit it, he was a decent looking man. Reddish, light brown hair, well built, tall, he would've been several of her friends' types. She sighed and went over to him, getting ready to patch him up, as instructed._

_The man opened his eyes wearily and blinked at her. "Take it easy, will ya, Sweet Cheeks?"_

_Tess arched an eyebrow at him, then shrugged it off. "I always do, Private…?"_

_"Don't call me Private. I'm Rick."_

_Tess smiled weakly. "Alright, Rick. My name's Tess Carnahan. I'll take good care of you, I swear."_

_Rick scrunched up his nose, looking tired as Hell. "I'm gonna hold you to that, and I'm gonna pass out as you do it."_

_Tess frowned. "I uh, wouldn't suggest that, Rick."_

_"Oh, relax, the bullet's out, it was a graze, and I haven't slept in days. I'll be fine. Promise," Rick replied._

_Tess went to object, but a moment later, Rick was out cold. It didn't look like he had passed out from pain or anything, so she took that as a win so far. "… I hope so, Rick." She muttered before going to work on getting the bandages on his abdomen._

* * *

**_Outside Cairo, 1923:_ **

_Tess gaped at the amount of injured soldiers in the tent she had been assigned to. The attack on Hamunaptra had gone horribly wrong, apparently, for various reasons. Her heart sunk. The number of bodies inside had almost doubled since last night. Where was Rick, where was Beni? The pair of them had gotten hurt enough to have been in her care plenty of times. She had no issue calling them friends. She was terrified at the fact she knew they were on that mission, but hadn't shown, at all. "Where are you…?" Her heart skipped a beat when she spotted a familiar face being helped towards the tent. "RICK!" She ran out of the tent and threw her arms around him, suddenly aware it took him a few moments to respond, but still returned the hug whole-heartedly._

_"Hey, Tessie," Rick practically croaked._

_Tess frowned. "What's wrong, are you hurt?"_

_"No, just… dehy…rated." Rick replied._

_Tess looked at the man who was supporting him. "Bring him into the tent. I'll get water."_

_The soldier nodded and went inside with Rick as Tess headed to do her self- assigned task. She went back inside, got to Rick, and barely gave Rick a moment to react to the fact she had reached him before she tilted the cup of water into his bottom lip so he was forced to start drinking. Rick took it from her and nodded after a moment. He exhaled sharply and leaned back into the pillows. "Damn…" He breathed._

_"What happened?" Tess asked._

_Rick shook his head. "A bad, bad battle for us, then after… well, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Just make sure you keep Beni the Hell away from me."_

_Tess frowned. That had come out of nowhere. Sure, she wasn't too fond of Beni, being that most of his greeting hugs ended up with his hands on her behind, but she ignored her dislike because he and Rick were close. "Um…"_

_"He left me to die, Tessie. I was in a pinch, and he turned, ran, and when I had the chance to get shelter from being shot or stabbed, he locked me out." Rick replied, taking another drink._

_Tess frowned. "What?"_

_Rick nodded._

_Tess scoffed. "… Bastard!"_

_Rick snorted, then put the cup in his lap and smirked at her. "That so?" He asked. "I never woulda thought he was a sneaky, backstabbing bastard."_

_Tess looked at him, and the smirk that was now on his face made her remember Chase. How long had it been since they touched base? Years. Part of her relief dissipated at that, but when she saw Rick was looking at her like he knew she was suddenly miles away, she snapped out of it. He was her friend too, he was here in the now, and he had apparently almost died. That was enough to be happy about. " I'm glad you're okay, no matter what Beni did," She replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other people to tend to."_

_Rick winked at her, then watched as she started to weave her way between the beds to check on others. "Enjoy yourself, Sweet Cheeks!"_

_"Thought I told you not to call me that!" Tess called over her shoulder._

_"It's fun to annoy you!" Rick called back. When she merely waved him off, Rick just laughed, took another drink and leaned back again. All in all, despite the weird, howling face and almost dying, it was a pretty damn good day._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Cairo, Egypt, 1926:**

Tess looked around from her book after a neaby lamp flickered. Museums weren't ever a favorite of hers. She was more of a girl that lived for the present, not history. Something caught her eye and she slid off the table she had sat on moments before and went over to the showcase it was in. It was a large gold necklace with a sapphire stone in the center. Tess raised her eyebrows and nodded, impressed with it. Whoever had it made back then had good taste, she'd give them that.

"Hello Tess!"

Tess looked up as Evy walked into the room. She smiled and waved. "Hello, Evy!" she bounced on her heels and hurried over to her, then noticed her little sister looked absolutely devastated. "What is it?"

"What? Oh, it… it's nothing. What're you reading?" Evy asked, seeing the book in Tess' hands.

Tess held up the book.

Evy only saw the cover image of a cowboy silhouette and laughed. "A western, of course. Honestly, Tess. When are you going to give up on those two? You may never see them again."

"I'll find a way to see them," Tess shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Have fun reading. I'll only be a few more minutes and then we can go get something to eat. I need to talk to you- nothing bad, just… need sister time," Evy replied before walking into another room.

Tess rolled her eyes and chuckled, then turned back to read again. She had gotten quite comfortable again until she heard her sister shriek in fright. She shot upright. "Evy!" she looked for some sort of weapon as she ran towards the scream. She caught sight of a sword that was also on display, then thought better of it and ran faster into the other room.

Her panic dropped when she heard her brother howling with laughter. "Jon…" she hissed. She was going to  _kill_  that man.

"Oh Jon,, have you no respect for the dead?!" Evy demanded a few feet away.

"Of course I do but sometimes, I'd rather like to join them…" Jonathan replied.

Tess turned the corner, just as Jonathan made the mummy whose sarcophagus he was in wave at Evy. "Jon! I thought Evy was in real danger, you idiot!" she punched his arm, but let him take her hand to help in getting out of the sarcophagus all the same. "Honestly, you two! Do you ever stop?"

"No, which is why we love you, sister. You slow us down" Jonathan replied before offering a teasing grin. He kissed her on the cheek.

"Get away!" Tess laughed, backing off.

Jonathan beamed, then looked at Evy. "Which brings us to why I came here, by the way. I found something you may want to have a look at, Evy"

Tes sighed. Another one of his 'digs', she figured. He should just give it up and call it 'pilferings'- they knew and didn't do much to stop him, so what was his point? She started towards the door again, leaving them to handle whatever exchange of historical findings they were about to do. It might as well have been a foreign language to her- well, it quite literally was, aside from a handful of words Evy had taught her from talking her ear off about it.

After a while, Evy and Jonathan burst through the doors. Evy was absolutely beaming. She grabbed Tess' hand and yanked her forwards, towards the exit of the museum. "Teresa, get up. We're going to find a man who knows a few things about Hamunaptra.

Tess blanched at the name. Wasn't that…? What was there that was so interesting? She hadn't heard anything about the place since the Legion had left it. Judging by Rick's condition there, she had figured it was for the best.

"Are you alright?" Evy asked after a moment.

Tess looked up to find her siblings wore matching looks of concern. "Uh… sure. Fine. Who- Who are we going to see about it?" she asked and gathered her things.

"Some O'Connell fellow. Think that was his name. O'Connor, maybe?" Jonathan replied.

Tess smirked. "I'm assuming that this is the one you 'borrowed' it from?"

Jonathan offered a guilty smile and shrugged.

After a beat, Evy punched Jonathan's arm. "I knew it! You tell me it's not, but you tell her it is?"

"She likes me better and won't hold it against me," Jonathan deadpanned.

Evy rolled her eyes, then motioned at them to follow her. "Well we have to do something. This is quite the find, and it may be more if we get the story behind it," she held up an odd box.

"Fine. So where are we off to then?" Tess asked and glanced at Jonathan.

Her brother, in turn, shrugged. "Well…"

* * *

_Prison_.

Jonathan's contact was in  _prison_.

Tess figured she should've seen that coming sooner. She glanced around the grounds. Prisoners screaming, guards shoving around prisoners who were walking around- it was a right mess.

"You still lied to me" Evy growled to Jonathan as the three of them were led towards a cell by the jail warden.

"I lie to everybody, what makes you so special?" Jonathan countered.

"You don't lie to Tess?"

"Because she lets me get away with it. We've been over this, sister!"

Tess snorted, then noticed that the warden had stopped at one of the cells. "Looks like we're here!" she glanced at the guards that had suddenly started to surround it. "What do you keep in here? A lion?" she asked.

"You could say that" the warden replied. "You could say a wild boar too…" he added and scrunched up his nose for good measure.

"What exactly is this man is prison for?" Evy asked, coming over to them.

"For this, I do not know. When you were coming, I asked him that myself…" the Warden began.

"And?" Tess crossed her arms.

"He said he was just looking for a good time," the Warden replied, just as the door opened and two guards dragged a man with long, shaggy hair out from the door in the back of the cell.

Tess stepped back after the vibration of O'Connell hitting the bars of the cell hit her since she was leaning against it. She studied the man for a moment, noticing that he looked familiar.

"This… this is the man that you stole it from?" Evy asked Jonathan.

Jonathan nodded rapidly. "Yes, yes, exactly so why don't we go sniff out a spot of tiffin-"

"Who are you?" O'Connell demanded. "And who are the two broads?"

"Broads?" Evy demanded.

Jonathan waved her off dismissively. "Well, I'm just sort of a local missionary chap, spreading the good word, and these two are my sisters…"

"Oh well, maybe she's not a total loss. The taller one's not so bad. Better if she looked this way" O'Connell frowned.

"I  _beg_  your pardon?" Evy demanded.

"Ask him about the box," Jonathan hissed.

"Uh yes, we may've found your puzzle box, and we've come to ask you about it…" Evy began.

"No." O'Connell shook his head.

"Huh?" Jonathan glanced at him.

"No, you came to ask me about Hamunaptra," Rick mused and leaned back.

"How do you know the box pertains to Hamunaptra?" Evy leaned forward.

"Because that's where I was when I found it. I was there. Me and two other… friends," O'Connell replied. "Well, and the rest of the Legion, but those two were the only ones I cared about- I hate one of them now, haven't seen the other in three years" O'Connell replied. "Now, what about it?"

Jonathan stepped forward. "How do we know that's not a lot of pig's swallow?"

Rick squinted at him. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Oh, no, I just have one of those faces" Jonathan replied with a chuckle, but it only lasted a few seconds because O'Connell went wide eyed and punched Jonathan in the face.

At first, Tess was floored at the behavior, but as the two guards hit O'Connell, why he was familiar hit her when the man looked at her while he straightened out from the punch. "Wait a second- Rick?!" she exclaimed.

Rick glared her way, then went wide-eyed. "Tessie?!"

"Wait- you two know each other?" Evy asked, looking from Jonathan, to the guards, to Tess, to Rick and back.

Rick motioned at Tess and strained to step forward against the guards' grips. "She's the friend I haven't seen in three years! Tess, the Hell are you doing here? You're this creep's sister?!"

" 'Creep'?!" Jonathan objected.

Evy looked between them again. "Wait- you too? You were both at Hamunaptra? Tess…?!"

"I was outside it taking care of injured soldiers. He was there. He came back half dead. I don't like thinking about it so I didn't say anything!" Tess objected.

Rick nodded in agreement at his part in the explanation.

Evy gawked and looked absolutely hurt before she inhaled sharply and squared her shoulders. "Could you tell me how to get there?" Evy asked. "I mean, the exact location? Either of you?"

"I got this one, Tessie. You wanna know?" Rick asked and leaned forward.

Tess frowned when she saw Rick had started to smirk. She knew that smirk- it meant trouble. It meant some other nurse was about to get quite surprised. "Rick…"

"Well, yes…" Evy nodded and leaned in to meet him.

"Do ya really wanna know?" Rick asked.

"Yes" Evy said, getting closer after Rick motioned for her to do so.

When Rick lunged forward and kissed Evy, Tess couldn't help but gawk for a moment. "Rick, what…?!"

Rick pulled back and practically let the guards drag him back and land a couple of hits to his abdomen. "Then get me the hell outta here!" Rick added. "Tess, nice seeing ya again!" he called before he was dragged back into the hall.

"You… too?" Tess called back.

"Where are they taking him?" Evy asked after she finally came down from the shock of the kiss.

The Warden shrugged. "To be hanged. Apparently, he had a VERY good time!"

Evy looked at Tess. "We have to do something! If you were just outside and he was there…!"

Tess nodded. "We have to stop that hanging."

 


	3. Chapter 3

Tess started pacing back and forth in the room the warden was in. Rick's execution was underway, and what looked like the entire prison was there to watch it happen in the gallows. Bartering for the man's life was getting less and less likely, as Evy listed potential prices and the Warden shot them all down. Tess turned her attention from the hopefully impending transaction to Rick as one of the executioners put a noose around his neck. "We're trying, Rick. Just wait. I never quit saving your life, I'm not gonna stop now…"

"Two. Two hundred pounds!" Evy continued to try and bargain with the warden.

"Proceed!" the Warden yelled.

Tess gripped the wall to try and control herself and avoid punching the man in the face. She knew men like this drove a hard bargain. She just didn't know it would be that much. She saw Rick mutter something, and the hangman called something up to the Warden.

The Warden, in turn, smacked his own head. "Yahemar! Of course we don't let him go!"

"Oh come on!" Tess cried. "You're not getting anything from his death, we're offering money, just let him go!"

"You assume that seeing him die would not be a great reward for my services," the Warden shot bacl.

Evy cut her older sister off. Five hundred pounds!"

Tess whirled on Evy. "WHAT?!" she shrieked, then walked to the Warden's opposite side. "… Fine then, five hundred, just put him in our charge!"

The warden held up his hand after saying something in Arabic. "And what else?" he asked Evy, putting her hand on her knee. "I'm a very lonely man…"

Evy gasped and smacked his hand away, and Tess forced her way between them, contemplating punching the man and finding something to toss at the noose to cut it. Her heart sunk when she heard the prisoners laugh- apparently some had seen the exchange. That wasn't going to bode well for them.

The warden glared at her again when the prisoners started laughing.

Yalla Tlak!" the warden yelled.

Tess looked at Evy as she bolted upright, then realized what the command must've meant. "NO!" they both yelled, watching as Rick fell. Tess felt herself fall before she realized that her knees had even buckled. She had failed him. She had saved him at least four times and she had finally failed. She exhaled sharply and felt the tears coming when she heard cheering. She looked up slowly. The prisoners were cheering. Why would they…? She froze and scrambled to her feet to see what had happened. Her heart caught in her throat again when she saw that the floor had fallen from Rick's position, but the rope hadn't broken his neck , but he was still dangling from it, coughing as the rope strangled him. "Ev, he's alive!" .

"His neck did not break! The girl is right! Now we must watch him strangle to death!" the Warden insisted.

"He knows the location to Hamunaptra!" Evy blurted.

"Oh god" Tess slammed her head into her hands. "What is she doing?!" she muttered. And then she realized- new bartering means to make sure the guards would keep him alive and not let him choke.

"You lie!" the warden argued.

"I would never!" Evy replied.

"Are you telling me this filthy, godless son of a pig knows where the city of the dead is?"

Evy nodded.

Tess approached him. "Yes, he does, and I'm sure we can work something out with you about it!"

"Truly, he does?" the warden asked.

Tess nodded. "Yes."

Evy caught on. "And if you cut him down, we'll give you… ten percent!"

"Fifty percent" the warden argued.

"Twenty" Evy reasoned.

"Forty!" the warden pointed at her.

"Thirty!" Evy grinned.

"Twenty five!"

"Ah! Deal!" Evy pointed at him.

The warden paused. "Ah! Cut him down!"

Tess let out a disbelieving laugh before she bolted for the stairs down to the gallows. She made it down just as Rick hit the ground from the executioner cutting the rope. She could hear the guards shouting about her presence, but the Warden waved them off. Tess all but yanked Rick's upper body into her lap when she reached him.

Rick, to his credit, rolled further into her and tucked his forehead into her side. "That's… six times now, isn't it?"

"Well, this one isn't direct," Tess replied.

"Good… luck charm…" he poked her side, then groaned and relaxed against her. "So… I'm out? Really out?"

"Sounds like," Tess nodded.

"And… I gotta take you and your… brother and sister to Hamunaptra… I'm assuming?" he panted.

"I'm sorry, if that helps," Tess offered.

"Kinda does. Hey, no… hard feelings 'bout… the fact that I kissed your sister and not you, right?"

"Jackass," Tess scoffed.

"Just makin' sure. Woulda… been like kissing my sister."

"Whatever, Rick. Let's just get you out of this place."

"That… sounds  _fantastic_."

* * *

**Giza Port, Cairo:**

Tess gave Rick's sleeve another tug when he had gotten distracted looking around the port. "Rick, I know you need to get reacquainted with the outside, but we do have a schedule to keep now."

She had been the one to pick him up and give him money to get himself cleaned up once they had gotten out. She didn't at all expect that he would use it for the haircut and shave, nor the decent clothes he got along with it. She couldn't bring herself to mind that much, being that she had him back now and he was alive after briefly thinking he was dead hours ago, so she would gladly take the shock over sadness.

Rick sighed. "Sorry, but you said it. So… your sister always that uppity? And is your brother really that much of a crook?"

"Yes, and… not always. Per se. He means well… most of the time," Tess explained. She spotted her siblings a few feet away in the crowd and quickened her pace, leaving Rick to follow.

"…Filthy, rude, complete scoundrel, I don't like him one bit!" Evy continued her conversation with Jonathan.

"Anyone we know?" Rick asked.

Evy and Jonathan whirled around and gaped at the man for a minute. While Jonathan just seemed moderately impressed and recovered fast, Evy kept staring, eyes wide and mouth open until Tess elbowed her.

"Oh, um… hello…" Evy set her bags down, then right back to staring.

"Smashing day for the start of an adventure, eh, O'Connell?" Jonathan patted Rick's chest.

"Yeah, yeah. Smashing…" Rick nodded. He pulled back and checked to make sure his wallet was there.

Jonathan saw Tess scoff and hit Rick, then caught on to what the other man was getting at. "Oh, no! I never steal from a partner, partner!" he assured him. He went to punch Rick in the shoulder lightly, but realized how awkward it made things halfway through and let his arm drop.

Rick nodded after a beat. "That reminds me. Now hard feelings about the…" he made a punching motion.

"Oh no, happens all the time," Jonathan waved him off dismissively.

Evy stepped between them. "Mr. O'Connell, can you look me in the eye and guarantee me this isn't some kind of a a flimflam, because if it is, I'm warning you-"

"You're warning me? Lady, I don't lie to people who saved my hide. Besides, apparently you can get slightly less information from your sister and manage to sort it out all the same, so really, if you were hesitant, you coulda left me. Remember that," Rick replied. "Let me tell you something. All of us believed in the legend, then we got there, and all we found was sand and blood." Rick replied. "Let me get your bags…" he bent down and picked up two of Jonathan and Evy's bags. "Tess!" he called.

Evy glanced her way. "What was…?"

"Shit. I- I forgot about his odds there. No wonder he's testy. He almost died. He… was one of three survivors from when they were over there… and the other two had booked it out of there the second they thought they were outnumbered…" Tess explained. Her stomach twisted in sympathy, having forgotten that detail before. "Look, he called me too, so…" she looked between her siblings, then sighed and hurried after Rick.

When she fell into step with him. "Rick, I honestly forgot. I was so used to dealing with people who almost died and very few who came back it all sort of blended together and I forgot your case for that was in Hamunaptra and… if I remembered that, the second I recognized you I would've had us leave. I'm sorry," she blurted.

Rick shook his head. "It's fine. Hell, maybe whatever your sister wants has to do with… what I saw, or the guys on the roof who didn't help me, all that," Rick replied.

"I… guess. I'm just… I need you to know I really am sorry for what it's worth… being that it's my brother stealing from you that got your connection to this started and all."

"Tessie, it's fine. Besides, if anything goes wrong, now I have an excuse to blame you- and it won't even be a joke this time."

"I hate you so, _so_  much."

"Missed you too."

* * *

Tess looked over the ship's railing. She had to admit it was some stroke of luck that she hadn't gotten seasick yet, the way the waves were hitting the sides. The group had gone their own way with Evy going back to read in their cabin, Rick wandering around, getting acquainted with people and freedom, and Tess figured Jonathan was off gambling somewhere. She sighed and pushed off the railing to leave and find Evy when she collided into someone. "Shit, I'm sorry-"

"My fault, Darlin'. S' alright," the man replied.

Tess went to smile apologetically at the man, but when she got a better look at him- long blonde hair, blue eyes, a smirk too damn flirtatious given the situation, she realized she knew him. "Jack?!"

The man's smirk dropped and he squinted at her, then beamed. "Tessie?!"

Tess laughed before she all but threw herself into the man's arms, and he was happy to receive her. "Jack Henderson, what the Hell are you doing here?!"

"Tessie Carnahan I could ask you the same damn thing!" the man countered. "God, how long's it been? Ten years?"

"Counting the letters? Yes!" Tess nodded eagerly. "Seriously, what're you doing here?"

"Eh, sightseeing and all that. I asked you too."

"Same," Tess replied. She figured she should spare him the exact details about the possible wild goose chase. "You look good!"

"You look better!" Henderson grinned.

Tess was about to comment about the pass at her when two other men approached them.

"Hey Henderson, we interrupting something, fella?" someone asked a few feet away.

"No, Burns. I'm comin'. She's an old friend I didn't at all expect to see here," Henderson explained, then turned to her and offered his hand. "Come with us for a bit. We can talk more there." He nodded in approval when she took his hand. "Boys, meet my friend Tessie, Tessie, this is Burns, and the guy in front of him is Daniels."

Daniels smiled at her. "Well hi, pretty lady. Are you and our pal here an item?"

Jonathan rounded a corner. "Have we found another player then- Oh, hello Tess."

"Hey Jon."

Henderson turned to her. "Wait a second, that's your Jon? The 'slight delinquent' brother?"

Tess nodded.

Henderson scoffed. "Shit! He's been our fourth player for a while. I shoulda been able to tell that!"

"Tell what?"

It was apparently Rick's turn to arrive and look at the group expectantly.

Tess pointed between herself and Henderson. "Long lost friends. Not a romantic thing. I'm not a good poker player so I'm not in their game. Now you're caught up. "

Rick nodded.

Daniels pointed to him. "Alright well if you know the lady and Henderson knows her, we might as well know each other. Wanna join our poker game? We could use another man."

"No. I only gamble with my life. Never my money" Rick replied.

"You never gamble?" Daniels asked, dealing more cards. "What if I was to bet you five hundred dollars we get to Hamunaptra 'fore you?" he asked.

"You're looking for Hamunaptra?" Rick asked, voicing the question that crossed Tess' mind.

"Damn straight we are," Henderson chimed in.

"And who says we are?" Rick asked.

"He does," the three Americans replied and pointed at Jonathan.

Jonathan laughed nervously.

"Well, how 'bout it? Is it a bet?" Daniels asked.

"Alright, you're on," Rick agreed.

"Rick…?" Tess frowned.

"What makes you so confident, Sir?" another man asked as he walked over. He stopped next to Burns, so Rick and Tess figured he was with them- older, seemed smarter, more arrogant, too.

"What makes you?" Rick asked.

"We got us a man who's actually been there" Henderson pointed out.

"What a coincidence, because my sister and O'Connell-"

Rick rammed his bag into Jonathan to shut him up.

Jonathan cleared his throat, then looked around. "Right, er, should we get back to the game, then?"

The others mumbled their agreement.

Rick grinned. "Gentleman, we got us a wager. Evening, Jonathan…" Rick squeezed Jonathan's shoulder hard, making the man wince.

"Night" Jonathan waved.

Tess took her turn. "Jon, there'll be a time when I may have a choice to kill you. I will, and I'll enjoy it" she said before kissing his forehead. She smiled at the Americans. "Night, boys. Nice meeting you." She went in the direction that O'Connell did.

O'Connell met her on the other side of the wall. "Who do you think their guide can be?"

"You think it's one of yours?" Tess asked.

"Could be. I can't imagine anybody else surviving out there."

"Could you imagine if it was Beni?" Rick scoffed.

"Rick, don't even  _joke_  like that."

 


	4. Chapter 4

Rick paced up and down the starboard run of the ship. He needed to find Tess. He was going to kill her. Or yell at her in the least. Yell at her seemed more likely. Her right hooks hurt when she felt like a victim at her friends’ expenses, so attempting to murder her would’ve been bad for him.  He saw her and Henderson turn the corner and all but marched over. “You. I need to talk to you. Now.” He glanced at Henderson “Alone, if you don’t mind. Shoo!”

“Rick!” Tess scoffed. “Look, I know you’ve been away for a while, but-“

“Their guide is Beni,” Rick explained.

Tess froze, then turned to Henderson. “You hired _Beni Gabor_?”

Henderson paused, then shrugged. “Seemed alright.  He’s jumpy, but he seemed to know what he was talking about, so…”

Rick rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, he wouldn’t know it as much as I do.”

“Why?” Henderson asked.

“Because that little prick left him to die in Hamunaptra last time,” Tess replied.

Henderson frowned. “You serious?”

Rick nodded. “Yeah. So I’d watch your back around him if I were you.”

Henderson stared at him. “Sure, I guess. Thanks.”

Tess saw Rick tense up again and touched his arm. “You okay?”

“Oh, I’ve been better. Thought the guy got himself killed sometime after that. I was happy with that idea,” he replied.

Tess looked back at Henderson. “Give us a few minutes, huh? I’ll come back to see you later so I can hear about your niece more. Are you gonna be at poker the rest of the night?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you later,” Henderson replied before he wandered off to give them more privacy.

Tess gave Rick’s sleeve a firm tug. “Come on. Let’s go get a couple of drinks-“

“So long as Beni’s not at the bar…” Rick sighed.

“Then we’ll take them and go,” Tess reassured him before she led him to the bar.

They settled in with a couple of beers and scouted out a corner of the place where they could see if Beni was coming in, then settled in. After a few minutes of silence, Rick scoffed. “You are the worst good luck charm ever.”

“Oh? Why?” Tess asked.

"I always told you, Tess. You're psychic!" Rick replied.  “ ‘Imagine if it’s Beni, that would be great, wouldn’t it?’ Two hours later, the guy’s following me on the ship and eavesdropping on my conversation with your sister.”

“You talked with Evy?”

Rick paused. “Yeah, about the… y’know.”

“Ooooohh, when you kissed her for no good reason- because you ‘were about to be hanged and ‘thought it was a good idea at the time’?” she recited.

“She told you, huh?” Rick flinched.

“Kind of blurted it all out in passing when she found Jack and I by the poker tables,” she replied. “Which reminds me…” she punched his arm. “That is for forcing that on her and making us suffer through her rant about it.”

Rick rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

Tess grinned, but it weakened. “Hey, you sure you could only… ‘could be better’ if Beni’s gonna be with us for a while? If we’re all headed for the same place?”

Rick shrugged. “Uh, no. Not gonna be happy about it at all, really, but… I can deal. I mean, I can always find an excuse to beat him within an inch of his life and since you have the experience, you can make sure he doesn’t die immediately after.”

“That’s a plan if I get to have the old Rick back,” Tess replied, clinking her bottle with his.

Rick grinned. “You do have me back. I’m just pissed off.”

“Well then you have a decent plan if he adds to it.”

Rick pointed at her. “Exactly.”

They finished their drink in comfortable silence, and when they got up to leave, Tess grabbed his sleeve again. “Come on. You have an apology to make to my sister.”

“Wha- really?” Rick whined.

“Yes really!” Tess hissed. “I did my friend duty, time to do my big sister duty!”

“You’re not gonna let me not do it, are you?” Rick asked.

“Nope,”

Rick got up. “Then let’s get this over with even if I already did.”

Tess beamed, then got up and let him lead the way out of the room. She was barely beyond the threshold of the doorway when she ran into Rick’s outstretch arm. “What-?”

“The last time we stopped was twenty minutes ago and we weren’t anywhere near another port…”

“Uh huh…?”

“Then why the Hell are there wet footprints around?” Rick questioned, motioning at the floor.

Tess followed his gaze, then frowned. Sure enough, wet footprints led from the edge of the railing and towards the rooms.

“They’re headed towards the cabins…” he noted. “Yours and Evy’s is around there, isn’t it?”

Tess frowned at him. “Thieves?”

“They’re all headed to one place- can’t be thieves…” Rick countered.

“Evy….” Tess muttered and headed in the direction the footsteps were going.

“Tess!” Rick ran after her. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye- a black blur and then a silver flash. “TESS!” he lunged forward, grabbed her around the waist and launched himself backwards, taking her with him.

The pair gawked when they saw a knife fly past them and imbed itself into the wall barely an inch from where they would’ve been. They looked in the direction the knife had come and saw a man in black robes headed right for them.

They stared for a couple of seconds before a few rounds of gunfire went off and there were distant screams. A handful of other robed men showed up, chasing their own people or boarding the ship

Rick grabbed Tess’ hand as he saw the robed man had started to speed up in trying to get them. “Oh, this cannot be a coincidence! Come on! We gotta get my pack!”

“I have to find Evy and Jon!” Tess objected.

“At this rate we’re getting whatever comes first!” he insisted as they ran down one of the hallways. After a few seconds they had lost their pursuer, but even more robed men had shown up. Avoiding all of them was harder than expected. They turned a corner and froze upon realizing they had boxed themselves into a corner with robed men coming from both sides.

What they didn’t expect was for Henderson to come charging out from one of the halls they couldn’t get to and barreled into one of the other men and sent him tumbling overboard.

Rick spotted an extra gun at Henderson’s hip and grabbed it. He lined up a shot at the last pursuer and shot him. He waited for him to fall before he turned to Henderson. “Thanks for that. And I used to hate cowboy types. Good work with that shove, too.”

“Didn’t mean it. I was runnin’ too fast. Coulda been me. The Hell is going on?!” Henderson demanded.

“Can we ask questions later and find me a weapon- and my siblings first, please?!” Tess objected.

Rick nodded after a beat, then saw another knife sticking out of the wall by them. He yanked it out and held the hilt out to her. “You know how to use one of these?”

“I think I’m gonna have to improvise!” Tess answered, then smacked both of their arms and pointed when yet another robed man showed up down one of the paths.

“Move!”   Rick ordered and shoved them down the free hallway.

They made their way towards Rick and Jonathan’s cabin, and the former heaved a sigh when he smelled smoke. “I hate these guys.”

“You know who they are?!” Henderson asked.

“They were waiting for my people in Hamunaptra. They’re the ones who tried to kill us,” Rick explained, then glanced at Henderson. “You want a bet? I’ll bet you our friend Beni tipped off someone who knew these guys. Coulda been Jonathan’s big mouth, too.”

"You think?!" Tess deadpanned. Her eyebrows shot up when she saw Jonathan run past them. “Wait- shit- Jon!” she ran after him.

Rick groaned and he and Jack ran after her.

After following Jonathan for a few seconds, Tess huffed at the fact that he hadn’t bothered to turn- for her sake and his own. “JON!”

That got his attention, and he turned. Upon seeing her, he ran over. “The HELL is going on?!”

Rick shoved his way between them. “Answers later, get off this damn boat now. Where’s your sister?”

“I thought Evy would be with you!” Jonathan objected.

The four of them ducked when a nearby window shattered and flames started billowing from it.             

Rick backed up and then pointed down the path they had come. “Go back, jump overboard, get to the shore. I’ll get Evy!”

“But-“ Jonathan and Tess began.

“I’ll get her. I promise. I’m not risking all of you. Go!” Rick ordered, then turned and ran.

Tess hesitated, then went to follow him. Henderson grabbed her arm, and when she turned to try and shrug him off, she saw Jonathan had already gone to follow Rick’s orders. “Shit!”

“Man seems perfectly capable of doing what he said. Your sister’ll be fine with him. Might as well stick with your brother for now,” Henderson insisted.

Tess sighed. “Fine, let’s go. Before I change my mind.”

They bolted for the side of the ship and threw themselves overboard, narrowly missing another troupe of robed men in the process.

They made it to shore, dodging bullets and other flying debris in the process. They were barely on land for two minutes before Tess spotted Beni get out of the water a few feet away. “You…” she hissed.

“Tessie….” Henderson warned.

It came too late, since Tess scrambled up and marched over to him. She hauled him upright and he just had the look that he recognized her for a second before she punched him in the face.

“You stupid prick! What did you do?! Who did you tell about Hamunaptra?!”

Beni, to his credit, recovered fast. He got up and put his hands up in surrender. “Teresa! It’s so good to see you- alive! I didn’t know you were on the ship!”

“I asked you a damn question!” Tess went to punch him again, and then felt an arm around her middle. She glanced down and recognized the sleeve. “Jack, lemme go!”

“You’re gonna drown him before you get any answers!” Henderson objected.

“It’s worth it after he left Rick to die!” she fought his grip.

“Which is why attacking him is _my_ job, Tessie!”

The four of them turned to see Rick and Evy on the other side of the river. Evy merely looked between both sides, taking in the scene to behold.

A few moments later, Burns and Daniels made their way into the beach.

Beni suddenly found his courage again. “Hey O’Connell! Looks to me like I’ve got all the horses!”

Tess snarled and advanced on him, and Henderson pulled her back again.

“Hey Beni! Looks to me like you’re on the wrong side of the ri-ver!” Rick countered.

Beni laughed for a moment before looking around. When he realized they were right, he kicked the water.

Rick turned his attention to his own people. “You guys okay?”

“No, not really!” Jonathan shook his head.

“We’re fine- shaken, but could be worse!” Tess called, and Henderson nodded in agreement.

Rick saw Beni calculating something in his head, looking down and kicking at the ground, muttering to himself. He turned back to the others. “Stick with them. I’m sure we’ll come across each other soon enough!”

“Okay!” Tess waved.

She switched her attention back to her brother and friend, and found that the rest of the crew she had seen with Burns and Daniels had also arrived there, only a few people short.

The prim man had already started to bark orders that the others were hurrying to obey.

“So… we’re just supposed to… wait… then?” Jonathan asked.

“Apparently,” Tess agreed.

Jonathan scoffed. “Oh, fantastic. This’ll be fun! I can’t wait! We almost just died, now we’re trapped in the desert with these loons, separated from the man who seems to know what he’s doing the most. So how long do you think we’re going to last before we starve?”


End file.
